Use of residual organic compounds to facilitate gate break on a carrier substrate for a semiconductor device

ABSTRACT

An encapsulant molding technique used in chip-on-board encapsulation wherein a residual organic compound layer on the surface of a substrate is used to facilitate removal of unwanted encapsulant material. An organic compound layer which inherently forms on the substrate during the fabrication of the substrate or during various chip attachment processes is masked in a predetermined location with a mask. The substrate is then cleaned to remove the organic compound layer. The mask protects the masked portion of the organic material layer which becomes a release layer to facilitate gate break. An encapsulant mold is placed over the substrate and chip and an encapsulant material is injected into the encapsulant mold cavity through an interconnection channel. The release layer is formed in a position to reside as the bottom of the interconnection channel. Preferably, the interconnection channel has a gate adjacent the encapsulant mold cavity. The encapsulant material solidifies and the encapsulant mold is removed, wherein the gate forms an indentation abutting the cavity. Excess encapsulant solidified in the interconnection channel is leveraged from the surface of the substrate and broken free at the indentation. The remaining release layer may then be removed.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application is a divisional of application Ser. No.09/574,471, filed May 19, 2000, pending, which is a divisional ofapplication Ser. No. 09/019,209, filed Feb. 5, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No.6,117,708, issued Sep. 12, 2000.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] 1. Field of the Invention

[0003] The present invention relates to chip-on-board encapsulation.More particularly, the present invention relates to an encapsulantmolding technique used in chip-on-board encapsulation wherein ahydrophobic, residual organic compound layer on the surface of a carriersubstrate is used to facilitate removal of unwanted encapsulant materialdeposited during the molding operation.

[0004] 2. State of the Art

[0005] In the fabrication of semiconductor devices, a common circuitintegration technique involves attaching individual semiconductorcomponents, such as semiconductor chips, to a surface of a carriersubstrate, such as a printed circuit board (e.g. FR-4), ceramicsubstrate, BT substrate, cyanate ester substrate, or silicon substrate,by any known chip-on-board attachment technique. Such chip-on-boardattachment techniques include, but are not limited to, flip-chipattachment, TAB attachment, and wire bond attachment. After attachment,the semiconductor components may be encapsulated with a viscous liquidor gel insulative material (e.g., silicones, polyimides, epoxies,plastics, and the like) (“encapsulant material”) with a transfer moldingtechnique. This encapsulation (depending on its formulation) allows eachsemiconductor component to better withstand exposure to a wide varietyof environmental conditions, such as moisture, ion impingements, heat,and abrasion.

[0006] An exemplary transfer molding technique for forming anencapsulant over a semiconductor component is illustrated in FIGS.11-16. It should be understood that the figures presented in conjunctionwith this description are not meant to be actual views of any particularportion of an actual semiconducting component or molding device, but aremerely idealized representations which are employed to more clearly andfully depict the process of the invention than would otherwise bepossible.

[0007]FIG. 11 illustrates a pair of semiconductor components 202attached to a carrier substrate 204 and in electrical communication withthe carrier substrate 204 through a plurality of wire bonds 206. Asshown in FIGS. 12 and 13, a multi-cavity encapsulant mold 208 is placedover the carrier substrate 204 and semiconductor components 202 (shownin shadow line in the top plan view illustrated in FIG. 12), such thatcavities 210 (shown in shadow line in the top plan view illustrated inFIG. 12) of the multi-cavity encapsulant mold 208 are substantiallycentered over each semiconductor component 202. The multi-cavityencapsulant mold 208 is pressed against the carrier substrate 204 toprevent the border or other portions of the carrier substrate 204 frombeing covered by encapsulant material to be subsequently injected.

[0008] The cavities 210 of the multi-cavity encapsulant mold 208 areusually connected by an interconnection array of channels 212 connectedto a central reservoir 214 (see FIG. 12) from which an encapsulantmaterial, such as a molten particle-filled polymer, is fed underpressure. Usually, the channels 212 have constricted regions called“gates” 216 adjacent each cavity 210, as shown in FIG. 13. The gate 216controls the flow and injection velocity of the encapsulant material 218into each cavity 210 and forms a break point abutting the cavity 210 topermit removal of the excess channel encapsulant 222 which solidifies inthe channels 212, as shown in FIG. 14. After the encapsulation of thesemiconductor component 202 is complete and the encapsulant solidified,the multi-cavity encapsulant mold 208 is removed, as shown in FIG. 15.The excess channel encapsulant 222 at locations defined by channels 212is then leveraged (shown in shadow lines in FIG. 15) from the surface ofthe carrier substrate 204 and broken free at an indentation 226 formedby the gate 216 (see FIGS. 13 and 14), called “gate break,” as shown inFIG. 16.

[0009] The adhesion of the solidified encapsulant material 218 to thecarrier substrate 204 must be very strong such that the solidifiedencapsulant material 218 does not detach from carrier substrate 204.However, this strong adhesion is disadvantageous when attempting toremove the excess channel encapsulant 222 from the carrier substrate204. If the adhesion force between the excess channel encapsulant 222and the carrier substrate 204 exceeds the cohesive strength of thematerial of the carrier substrate 204 itself, the carrier substrate 204will delaminate or rupture when the excess channel encapsulant 222 isleveraged from the surface of the carrier substrate 204.

[0010] Various methods have been devised to prevent the excess channelencapsulant from adhering to the carrier substrate. One such method ispresented in U.S. Pat. No. 5,542,171 issued Aug. 6, 1996 to Juskey etal. (“the Juskey patent”) which relates to treating a predeterminedportion of the surface of the carrier substrate over which the moldchannels will reside to prevent the excess encapsulant material thereonfrom adhering to the carrier substrate. The Juskey patent teachesselectively contaminating the surface portion with an ink or a polymer.A drawback of the Juskey patent is that applying inks or polymers to thecarrier substrate surface risks contamination of the area adjacent asemiconductor chip, which contamination may prevent the adhesion of theencapsulant material over the semiconductor chip to the carriersubstrate, resulting in a compromised package.

[0011] Furthermore, the technique taught in the Juskey patent would notbe applicable to FR-4 substrates (flame retardant epoxy glass laminate).FR-4 requires a cleaning step, such as plasma cleaning, just beforeencapsulation to remove unwanted organic compounds in order to obtainsufficiently strong adhesion between the encapsulant material and theFR-4 substrate. Unfortunately, the plasma cleaning would also remove theink or polymer as taught in the Juskey patent and, as mentioned above,addition of inks or polymers after such cleaning would riskcontamination of the area adjacent a semiconductor chip. Thus, for anFR-4 substrate, the predetermined surface portion on the carriersubstrate is plated with gold. The gold plating adheres to the FR-4substrate, but not to most encapsulant materials. Also, thisnon-adhering property of the gold to encapsulant materials is notaffected during the plasma cleaning of the carrier substrate. However,such gold plating is expensive.

[0012] An alternative arrangement of channels which injects theencapsulant material from the top (i.e., no excess encapsulant materialon the carrier substrate when encapsulating the semiconductor component)has been used, but this requires a more complex and expensive moldingsystem.

[0013] Thus, it can be appreciated that it would be advantageous todevelop an inexpensive technique to treat a predetermined portion of thesurface of the carrier substrate, over which the transfer mold channelswill reside to prevent the excess encapsulant material from sticking tothe carrier substrate while using commercially-available,widely-practiced semiconductor device transfer-molding packagingtechniques.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0014] The present invention relates to an encapsulant molding techniqueused in chip-on-board encapsulation wherein a hydrophobic, residualorganic compound layer on the surface of a carrier substrate is used tofacilitate removal of unwanted encapsulant material.

[0015] During the fabrication of the carrier substrate or during variouschip-on-board attachment processes, such as attaching a semiconductorchip with an adhesive to a carrier substrate, a thin layer of organiccompounds forms over a surface of the carrier substrate on which thesemiconductor chip is attached. The organic compound layer is generallystripped with a cleaning step, such as plasma cleaning, beforeencapsulating the semiconductor chip, so that an encapsulant materialwill adhere to the carrier substrate. However, the present inventionutilizes a predetermined portion of the organic compound layer tofacilitate gate break.

[0016] A mask is applied over the predetermined portion of the organiccompound layer. It is, of course, understood that the mask can be anymaterial which is capable of masking the organic compound layerincluding, but not limited to, a pre-patterned piece of metal or otherrigid structure which is held onto the carrier substrate, apre-patterned tape-type material which attaches to the carriersubstrate, or a viscous material applied to the predetermined portion ofthe organic compound layer by any known means, such as stenciling,spray-on, roll on, screen printed application, and the like. The carriersubstrate is then cleaned to remove the organic compound layer. However,the mask protects the masked portion of the organic material layer. Themask may completely resist the cleaning step, wherein the mask would beremoved with an appropriate processing step, or the mask may be ablatedaway during the cleaning step to leave at least a portion of theoriginal portion of the organic material layer which becomes a releaselayer to facilitate gate break. If a pre-patterned metal or other rigidstructure or tape-type material is used as a mask, the mask is simplyremoved after the cleaning step.

[0017] An encapsulant mold is placed over the carrier substrate andsemiconductor chip, such that a cavity of the encapsulant mold issubstantially centered over the semiconductor chip. An encapsulantmaterial is injected into the encapsulant mold cavity through at leastone interconnection channel which is connected to an encapsulantmaterial source. The release layer is formed in a position to reside atthe bottom of the interconnection channel. Preferably, theinterconnection channel has a gate adjacent the encapsulant mold cavityto control the flow and injection velocity of the encapsulant materialinto the encapsulant mold cavity.

[0018] The encapsulant material solidifies and the encapsulant mold isremoved, wherein the gate forms an indentation abutting the cavity.Excess encapsulant solidified in the interconnection channel isleveraged from the surface of the carrier substrate and broken free atthe indentation. Optionally, the remaining release layer may then beremoved.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] While the specification concludes with claims particularlypointing out and distinctly claiming that which is regarded as thepresent invention, the advantages of this invention can be more readilyascertained from the following description of the invention when read inconjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

[0020]FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a chip-on-board assemblyhaving an organic compound layer therein;

[0021]FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the chip-on-board assemblyhaving a mask patterned on the organic compound layer;

[0022]FIG. 3 is a top plan view of FIG. 2;

[0023]FIG. 4 is a side cross-sectional view of the chip-on-boardassembly after cleaning;

[0024]FIG. 5 is a side cross-sectional view of an encapsulant moldcovering a semiconductor chip on the chip-on-board assembly;

[0025]FIG. 6 is a side cross-sectional view of the encapsulant moldfilled with encapsulant material;

[0026]FIG. 7 is a side cross-sectional view of an encapsulatedsemiconductor chip prior to the removal of excess channel encapsulant;

[0027]FIG. 8 is a side cross-sectional view of an encapsulatedsemiconductor chip with the excess channel encapsulant leveraged fromthe carrier substrate;

[0028]FIG. 9 is a side cross-sectional view of an encapsulatedsemiconductor chip after the removal of excess channel encapsulant;

[0029]FIG. 10 is a side cross-sectional view of an encapsulatedsemiconductor chip after removal of the release layer;

[0030]FIG. 11 is an oblique view of a pair of semiconductor componentselectrically connected to a carrier substrate by wire bonds;

[0031]FIG. 12 is a top plan view of an encapsulant mold coveringsemiconductor components according to a known technique;

[0032]FIG. 13 is a side cross-sectional view of an encapsulant moldcovering a semiconductor component according to a known technique;

[0033]FIG. 14 is a side cross-sectional view of an encapsulant filledmold according to a known technique;

[0034]FIG. 15 is a side cross-sectional view of an encapsulatedsemiconductor component prior to the removal of excess channelencapsulant according to a known technique; and

[0035]FIG. 16 is a side cross-sectional view of an encapsulatedsemiconductor component after removal of excess channel encapsulantaccording to a known technique.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0036] FIGS. 1-10 illustrate a method of utilizing a residual organiccompound layer on the surface of a carrier substrate which is used tofacilitate removal of unwanted encapsulant material deposited on saidcarrier substrate during the molding operation according to oneembodiment of the present invention. It should be understood that thefigures presented in conjunction with this description are not meant tobe actual views of any particular portion of an actual semiconductorcomponent or molding device, but are merely idealized representationswhich are employed to more clearly and fully depict the process of theinvention than would otherwise be possible.

[0037] During the fabrication of the carrier substrate or during variouschip-on-board attachment processes, such as attaching a semiconductorchip with an adhesive to a carrier substrate, a thin layer of organiccompounds forms over a surface of the carrier substrate on which thesemiconductor chip is attached. FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplarychip-on-board assembly 100 comprising a semiconductor chip 102 attachedto a carrier substrate 104, such as a printed circuit board (e.g.,FR-4), ceramic or silicon substrate, wherein electrical contact, such asbetween pads on said semiconductor chip 102 and traces on the surface ofthe carrier substrate 104, is made with wire bonds 106. It is, ofcourse, understood that the semiconductor chip 102 could be inelectrical communication with the carrier substrate 104 by othertechniques, such as TAB or flip-chip attachment.

[0038] As discussed above, a thin layer of organic compounds 108 ispresent on the carrier substrate 104. The organic compound layer 108 isgenerally stripped with a cleaning step, such as plasma cleaning, beforeencapsulating the semiconductor chip 102, so that an encapsulantmaterial will adhere to the carrier substrate 104. However, it has beenfound that a portion of the organic compound layer 108 may be shieldedfrom this stripping and used as a release layer.

[0039] FIGS. 2-3 illustrate a side cross-sectional view and a top planview, respectively, of a mask 112 applied over a specific portion of theorganic compound layer 108. It is, of course, understood that the mask112 can be any material which is capable of masking the organic compoundlayer 108 including, but not limited to, a pre-patterned piece of metalor other rigid structure which is held onto the carrier substrate 104, apre-patterned tape-type material which attaches to the carrier substrate104, or a viscous material applied to the predetermined portion of theorganic compound layer 108 by any known means, such as stenciling,spray-on, roll on, screen printed application, and the like.

[0040] After the application of the mask 112, the carrier substrate 104is then cleaned to remove the organic compound layer 108. However, themask 112 protects the masked portion of the organic compound layer 108.The mask 112 may completely resist the cleaning step, wherein the mask112 would be removed with an appropriate processing step, or the mask112 may be ablated away during the cleaning step to leave at least aportion of the original portion of the organic compound layer 108, whichbecomes a release layer 114, as shown in FIG. 4. If the mask 112 is apre-patterned piece of rigid material or tape-type material, the mask112 is simply removed from the carrier substrate 104 after the cleaningstep.

[0041] As shown in FIG. 5, an encapsulant mold 116 is placed over thecarrier substrate 104 and semiconductor chip 102, such that a cavity 118of the encapsulant mold 116 is substantially centered over thesemiconductor chip 102. The encapsulant mold 116 is pressed against thecarrier substrate 104 to prevent the border of the carrier substrate 104from being covered by encapsulant material to be subsequently injected.

[0042] The encapsulant mold cavity 118 is connected to an encapsulantmaterial source (not shown) by an interconnection channel 122. Therelease layer 114 is formed in a position to reside as the bottom of theinterconnection channel 122, as shown in FIG. 5. Preferably, theinterconnection channel 122 has a constriction or gate 124 adjacent theencapsulant mold cavity 118 to control the flow and injection velocityof encapsulant material into the encapsulant mold cavity 118.

[0043] As shown in FIG. 6, a molten encapsulant material 126 is injectedunder pressure into the encapsulant mold cavity 118 through theinterconnection channel 122 to fill the encapsulant mold cavity 118. Theencapsulant material 126 in the encapsulant mold cavity 118 and theinterconnection channel 122 cools and solidifies and the encapsulantmold 116 is removed, as shown in FIG. 7. The gate 124 (see FIG. 5) formsan indentation 128 abutting the encapsulant mold cavity 118. Excessencapsulant 132 solidified in the interconnection channel 122 isleveraged from the surface of the carrier substrate 104, as shown inFIG. 8, and broken free at the indentation 128, as shown in FIG. 9.Optionally, the remaining release layer 114 may be removed to form theencapsulated structure 134, as shown in FIG. 10.

[0044] Having thus described in detail preferred embodiments of thepresent invention, it is to be understood that the invention defined bythe appended claims is not to be limited by particular details set forthin the above description, as many apparent variations thereof arepossible without departing from the spirit or scope thereof.

What is claimed is:
 1. A chip-on-board assembly comprising: a carriersubstrate; at least one semiconductor device attached to said carriersubstrate, wherein an encapsulant material encases said at least onesemiconductor device; and an organic material-containing residual pathextending from a location proximate said semiconductor device to aperiphery of said carrier substrate.
 2. The assembly of claim 1 ,wherein said organic material-containing residual path comprises ahydrophobic organic compound layer.
 3. The assembly of claim 1 , whereinsaid organic material-containing residual path is formulated tofacilitate removal of said encapsulant material portion thereon.
 4. Anencapsulation system that facilitates removal of unwanted encapsulationmaterial when encapsulating a semiconductor device to be attached to acarrier substrate, the system comprising: an encapsulant materialsource; a mold attachable to the carrier substrate to substantiallyenclose the semiconductor device; and an interconnection channelinterconnecting the encapsulant material source and the mold, theinterconnection channel positionable over at least a portion of anorganic material containing residual path, the path extending from atleast one semiconductor device attachment location to a periphery ofsaid carrier substrate.
 5. The system of claim 4 , wherein said organicmaterial-containing residual path comprises a hydrophobic organiccompound layer.
 6. The system of claim 4 , wherein said organicmaterial-containing residual path overlies the carrier substrate.
 7. Thesystem of claim 4 , wherein said organic material-containing residualpath facilitates removal of the encapsulant material thereon.